Topics in coal geochemistry—Short course
Allan Kolker
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1145
This short course was prepared at the request of Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC) as a module for staff training. Prior to the short course, the SGC expressed interest in receiving training in (1) geochemistry and quality of coal; (2) geochemistry of trace elements in coal; (3) mercury and halogens in...
The Central African Republic Diamond Database—A geodatabase of archival diamond occurrences and areas of recent artisanal and small-scale diamond mining
Jessica D. DeWitt, Peter G. Chirico, Sarah E. Bergstresser, Inga E. Clark
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1088
The alluvial diamond deposits of the Central African Republic (CAR) are mined almost exclusively by way of informal artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) methods. ASM sites range in diameter from a few meters to 30 meters or more, and are typically excavated by crews of diggers using hand tools, sieves,...
VS30 at three strong-motion recording stations in Napa and Solano Counties, California — Lovall Valley Road, Broadway Street and Sereno Drive in Vallejo, and Vallejo Fire Station — Calculations determined from S-wave refraction tomography and multichannel analysis of surface waves (Rayleigh and Love)
Joanne H. Chan, Rufus D. Catchings, Mark R. Goldman, Coyn J. Criley
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1162
The August 24, 2014, moment magnitude (Mw) 6.0 South Napa earthquake caused an estimated $400 million in structural damage to the City of Napa, California. In 2015, we acquired high-resolution P- and S-wave seismic data near three strong-motion recording stations in Napa and Solano Counties where high peak ground accelerations...
VS30 at three strong-motion recording stations in Napa and Napa County, California — Main Street in downtown Napa, Napa fire station number 3, and Kreuzer Lane — Calculations determined from s-wave refraction tomography and multichannel analysis of surface waves (Rayleigh and Love)
Joanne H. Chan, Rufus D. Catchings, Mark R. Goldman, Coyn J. Criley
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1161
The August 24, 2014, moment magnitude (Mw) 6.0 South Napa earthquake caused an estimated $400 million in structural damage to the City of Napa, California. In 2015, we acquired high-resolution P- and S-wave seismic data near three strong-motion recording stations in Napa County where high peak ground accelerations (PGAs) were...
Revised technical implementation plan for the ShakeAlert system—An earthquake early warning system for the West Coast of the United States
Douglas D. Given, Richard M. Allen, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Paul Bodin, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Kenneth Creager, Robert M. de Groot, Lind S. Gee, Egill Hauksson, Thomas H. Heaton, Margaret Hellweg, Jessica R. Murray, Valerie I. Thomas, Douglas Toomey, Thomas S. Yelin
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1155
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), along with partner organizations, has developed an earthquake early warning (EEW) system called ShakeAlert for the highest risk areas of the United States: namely, California, Oregon, and Washington. The purpose of the system is to reduce the impact of earthquakes and save lives and property...
Hydrologic characteristics and water quality of headwater streams and wetlands at the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Summit area, Blair and Cambria Counties, Pennsylvania, 2014–16
Charles A. Cravotta III, Daniel G. Galeone, Kathy A. Penrod
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1125
The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (ALPO) in Blair and Cambria Counties, Pennsylvania, protects historic features of the first railroad portage over the Allegheny Front and the first railroad tunnel in the United States. This report, which was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National...
Delineation of contributing areas for 2017 pumping conditions to selected wells in Ingham County, Michigan
Carol L. Luukkonen
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1133
As part of local wellhead protection area programs, areascontributing water to production wells need to be periodicallyupdated because groundwater-flow paths depend in part onthe stresses to the groundwater-flow system. A steady-stategroundwater-flow model that was constructed in 2009 wasupdated to reflect recent (2017) pumping conditions in theLansing and East Lansing area...
Depth to basement and thickness of unconsolidated sediments for the western United States—Initial estimates for layers of the U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model
Anjana K. Shah, Oliver S. Boyd
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1115
We present numeric grids containing estimates of the thickness of unconsolidated sediments and depth to the pre-Cenozoicbasement for the western United States. Values for these grids were combined and integrated from previous studies or deriveddirectly from gravity analyses. The grids are provided with 1-kilometer grid-node spacing in ScienceBase (https://www.sciencebase.gov).These layers...
Assessment of oil and gas resources in the Upper Jurassic Haynesville and Bossier Formations, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016
Stanley T. Paxton
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1135
The U.S. Geological Survey completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Haynesville and Bossier Formations of the onshore and State waters portion of the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Haynesville Formation conventional oil and gas production began in the late 1930s, whereas Bossier Formation production...
U.S. Geological Survey input-data forms for the assessment of the Upper Jurassic Bossier Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016
Stanley T. Paxton, Janet K. Pitman, Scott A. Kinney, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Ofori N. Pearson, Katherine J. Whidden, Russell F. Dubiel, Christopher J. Schenk, Lauri A. Burke, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Tracey J. Mercier, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Phuong A. Le, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Sarah J. Hawkins, Kristen R. Marra, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1134
IntroductionIn 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an updated assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Upper Jurassic Bossier Formation of the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast Province (Paxton and others, 2017). The Bossier Formation was assessed using both the standard continuous (unconventional) and conventional methodologies...
U.S. Geological Survey input-data forms for the assessment of the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016
Stanley T. Paxton, Janet K. Pitman, Scott A. Kinney, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Ofori N. Pearson, Katherine J. Whidden, Russell F. Dubiel, Christopher J. Schenk, Lauri A. Burke, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Tracey J. Mercier, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Phuong A. Le, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Sarah J. Hawkins, Kristen R. Marra, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1130
IntroductionIn 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an updated assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Formation of the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast Province (Paxton and others, 2017). The Haynesville Formation was assessed using both the standard continuous (unconventional) and conventional methodologies...
2018 report on incorporating sedimentary basin response into the design of tall buildings in Seattle, Washington
Erin A. Wirth, Susan W. Chang, Arthur D. Frankel
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1149
On March 22, 2018, the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) convened a workshop of engineers and seismologists to provide guidance on incorporating sedimentary basin response into the design of tall buildings in Seattle. This workshop provided recommendations that build on those from...
PRISM marine sites—The history of PRISM sea surface temperature estimation
Marci M. Robinson, Harry J. Dowsett, Kevin M. Foley, Christina R. Riesselman
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1148
For more than three decades, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Project has compiled paleoenvironmental data with the goal of reconstructing global conditions during the warm interval in the middle of the Piacenzian Age of the Pliocene Epoch (about 3.3 to 3.0 million years...
Continuous stream discharge, salinity, and associated data collected in the lower St. Johns River and its tributaries, Florida, 2016
Patrick J. Ryan
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1108
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, plans to deepen the St. Johns River channel in Jacksonville, Florida, from 40 to 47 feet along 13 miles of the river channel, beginning at the mouth of the river at the Atlantic Ocean, to accommodate larger, fully loaded cargo vessels. The...
Additional period and site class maps for the 2014 National Seismic Hazard Model for the conterminous United States
Allison Shumway, Mark D. Petersen, Peter M. Powers, Sanaz Rezaeian
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1111
The 2014 update of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for the conterminous United States (2014 NSHM; Petersen and others, 2014, 2015) included probabilistic ground motion maps for 2 percent and 10 percent probabilities of exceedance in 50 years, derived from seismic hazard curves for peak ground acceleration...
Conservation genomics of the Mogollon Narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) and Northern Mexican gartersnake (Thamnophis eques megalops)
Dustin A. Wood, Iain D. Emmons, Erika M. Nowak, Bruce L. Christman, Andrew T. Holycross, Amy G. Vandergast
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1141
The ability of populations to persist and adapt to abiotic and biotic changes is reliant on genetic diversity. When connectivity across a species landscape is disrupted, the levels and distribution of genetic diversity can rapidly deteriorate as a result of genetic drift, leading to increased inbreeding and reduced adaptive potential....
Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative unit watershed erosion potential prioritization for check-dam installation
Kirsten E. Ironside
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1127
Changes in land-use practices and the extirpation (local extinction) of beaver populations in the early 20th century during European settlement are believed to have resulted in many changes in how streams in the Western United States function. Some of the negative changes that have resulted include stream channelization, soil erosion,...
Research to improve ShakeAlert earthquake early warning products and their utility
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Brad T. Aagaard, Richard M. Allen, Jennifer Andrews, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Andrew J. Barbour, Paul Bodin, Benjamin A. Brooks, Angela Chung, Brendan W. Crowell, Douglas D. Given, Thomas C. Hanks, J. Renate Hartog, Egill Hauksson, Thomas H. Heaton, Sara K. McBride, Men-Andrin Meier, Diego Melgar, Sarah E. Minson, Jessica R. Murray, Jennifer A. Strauss, Douglas Toomey
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1131
Earthquake early warning (EEW) is the rapid detection of an earthquake and issuance of an alert or notification to people and vulnerable systems likely to experience potentially damaging ground shaking. The level of ground shaking that is considered damaging is defined by the specific application; for example, manufacturing equipment may...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins
William H. Craddock, Matthew D. Merrill, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Ronald M. Drake II, Peter D. Warwick, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Philip A. Freeman, Mayur A. Gosai, Celeste D. Lohr
Peter D. Warwick, M.D. Corum, editor(s)
2018, Open-File Report 2012-1024-N
This chapter presents information pertinent to the geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration potential within saline aquifers located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins of the Eastern United States. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is underlain by a Jurassic to Quaternary succession of sedimentary strata that onlap westward...
A bioassay assessment of a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) eradication treatment
Matthew T. Barbour, Jeremy K. Wise, James A. Luoma
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1138
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha, Pallas, 1771) are an aquatic invasive species in theUnited States, and new infestations of zebra mussels can rapidly expand into dense colonies. Zebramussels were first reported in Marion Lake, Dakota County, Minnesota, in September 2017, andsurveys indicated the infestation was likely isolated near a public boat...
Mercury concentrations in water and mercury and selenium concentrations in fish from Brownlee Reservoir and selected sites in the Boise and Snake Rivers, Idaho and Oregon, 2013-17
Dorene E. MacCoy, Christopher A. Mebane
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1122
Mercury (Hg) analyses were conducted on samples of water and sport fish collected from selected sampling sites in the Boise and Snake Rivers and Brownlee Reservoir, in Idaho and Oregon, to meet National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System permit requirements for the City of Boise, Idaho, from 2013 to...
Effects of proposed navigation channel improvements on sediment transport in Mobile Harbor, Alabama
Davina Passeri, Joseph W. Long, Robert L. Jenkins III, David M. Thompson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1123
A Delft3D model was developed to evaluate the potential effects of proposed navigationchannel deepening and widening in Mobile Harbor, Alabama. The model performance wasassessed through comparisons of modeled and observed data of water levels, velocities, and bedlevel changes; the model captured hydrodynamic and sediment transport patterns in the studyarea with...
Laboratory evaluation of the Sea-Bird Scientific HydroCycle-PO4 phosphate sensor
Teri T. Snazelle
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1120
Sea-Bird Scientific’s HydroCycle-PO4 phosphate sensor is a single-analyte wet-chemistry sensor designed for in situ environmental monitoring. The unit was evaluated at the U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility to assess the accuracy of the sensor in solutions with known phosphorous concentration and to test the effects of chromophoric (colored) dissolved...
Development of an aerial population survey method for elk (Cervus elaphus) in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Bruce C. Lubow, Therese L. Johnson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1085
Executive SummarySince the early 1990s, substantial effort and funding have been expended to conduct research to guide development of a 20-year Elk and Vegetation Management Plan for Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) in Colorado. One goal of the plan is to maintain the elk (Cervus elaphus) population size at the...
Comparing methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program for deriving shoreline position from lidar data
Amy S. Farris, Kathryn M. Weber, Kara S. Doran, Jeffrey H. List
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1121
The U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program uses three methods to derive a datum-based, mean high water shoreline on open-ocean coasts from light detection and ranging (lidar) elevation surveys. This work compared the shorelines produced by the three methods for two different surveys: one survey with simple beach...
